We’ve got all sorts of player of the game stuff for you this week but let’s start with some guys who aren’t making it into the article as a player of the game.

D.J. Alexander came in briefly for Derrick Johnson and showed us that he’s the future at that position. Draft and develop. That’s general manager John Dorsey’s game and it’s working. Same can be said of Rakeem Nunez-Roches.

Kendall Reyes and Jarvis Jenkins are midseason free agent signings and they are looking great. Both making big impacts with how banged up the Chiefs are along the defensive line.

Cairo Santos and James Winchester also had a big impact on this game. Winchester recovered a muffed punt just weeks after his father passed away. Cairo Santos had the game-winning field goal and even though it was almost a “doink” he managed to sneak it through the uprights. Clutch. So very clutch.

Now let’s get to the real MVPs. These are the Kansas City Chiefs Players of the Game:

Offensive Player of the Game: Not available, check back when the offense decides to show

Just kidding. The Chiefs offense definitely showed up tonight when it counted the most.

Tyreek Hill and Alex Smith both get a share of Offensive Player of the Game tonight

First up, Tyreek Hill:

Tonight Hill became the first player with a rushing touchdown, receiving TD and kick return TD in a game since Gale Sayers (of the Chicago Bears) did it in 1965 against Vikings (per the game broadcast).

That is a historic achievement and it shows the Chiefs what kind of player that Hill can be for them currently and down the line. Apart from that achievement, Hill was the most reliable target for his co-share tonight and he needed reliability with Travis Kelce and Albert Wilson dropping balls left and right.

Next up, some praise for the Chiefs quarterback Alex Smith:

I thought about not mentioning this, but I just can’t let it go unsaid that Smith played a much better game tonight than he has all season. Sure it was ugly for the first half of the game, but things finally opened up offensively in the second half and overtime.

Alex Smith was able to sustain drives and convert on third down which was something the Chiefs only seemed to be able to do when they were playing in hurry-up offense.

Alex Smith has these moments where he has ice in his veins, where there is something inside of him that comes alive and he sees the field differently. A 49ers fan once described him as a Phoenix, a player that rises from the ashes once he gets knocked down. He plays at his best and elevates the team when the team absolutely needs it.

He did that tonight and he really deserves more credit than people are willing to give him for it.

Defensive Player of the Game: Justin Houston

During the game, Justin Houston had me dancing around the house like a crazy person. I did every Kelce touchdown dance in the book. Houston is back, like for real, he is actually back and playing like the No. 50 of old. That is great news. Perhaps the greatest news the Chiefs have received all season long.

Houston was making his presence known on every play and flat out broke the game for the Broncos. In the first half he had three sacks, a safety, a forced fumble, and what felt like a dozen pressures. It was like he was trying to catch up to teammate Dee Ford in the sack category in one night alone.

The Broncos simply had no answers for him. Right takcle Ty Sambrailo was on skates all day long and it was so bad that he literally had to be benched. In came former Chief Donald Stephenson who was also benched previously by the Broncos for poor performance.

Stephenson got sonned (look it up in urban dictionary if you don’t know what it means) by his former teammate Justin Houston for a good portion of the night. At least until he realized the referees wouldn’t call him for a single holding penalty.

Bonus — Special Teams Player of the Game: Tyreek Hill

Hill has been waiting for his return touchdown for a long time. He’s probably had more return TDs called back before actually scoring one than any player in NFL history (someone feel free to fact check that).

Well, after waiting some time, Hill finally got his return touchdown and man was it a sweet one:

Anti-Player of the Game: Albert Wilson

This week I give you the Anti-Player of the Game. This player is typically someone who doesn’t perform very well at all. This week the “honor” goes to receiver Albert Wilson.

Week in and out I find myself wondering what Wilson brings to the table for this team right now. Sure he’s the most veteran receiver next to Maclin, but if being a vet mattered Dwayne Bowe would still have a job on this team.

Wilson is a decent blocker and has caught a few touchdown passes this season. But he’s also shown lack of effort on countless plays, be it drops, alligator arms, or something else like a costly penalty. It seems like he does just enough every week to manage to squeak by in keeping his job.

Why not let someone who gives a better and more consistent effort the reps that Wilson is getting? Someone like Demarcus Robinson, who the team drafted from Florida. Maybe he could play like he has something to prove.

The only good thing I saw Wilson do this game was throw a block that sprung Hill on his rushing touchdown, but frankly the block could have easily been a block in the back penalty that erased the touchdown.

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